Back in the mid nineteen eighties in America, a scam was uncovered which
involved faking medical school certificates for phoney doctors. It was estimated
that some 10,000 doctors had counterfeit foreign medical degrees, which, because
they were so good, had fooled almost everyone in positions of authority. The
con man behind the deception was a man called Pedro De Mesones, and through
selling fraudulent documents, he had earned $1.5 million over three years.
Well De Mesones was eventually caught, and during the trial, the prosecution
said that many American citizens would have received medical treatment from
phoney doctors. These phoney doctors had paid De Mesones, who had then provided
them with their fake documents claiming they completed medical school and training.
In fact, they had done nothing of the sort. De Mesones, who ended up serving
a three-year prison sentence for mail fraud and conspiracy, admitted to the
court that in three years of faking medical degrees, he provided about 100
clients with false transcripts showing they had fulfilled medical requirements
of schools they didnít attend. "Clients paid me anything from $5225 to $27,000
for my services," De Mesones said. "In all I earned about $1.5 million in those
three years. But I only got to keep about $500,000 of this total. The rest
went on bribes and expenses." The heart bleeds! But it all goes to show how
easy it is to dupe people. And of course, the trouble is in this case, the
deception is very serious indeed because it is about life and death.

Now
in our passage for today, we meet a man who is being accused of deception.
The apostle Paul is being accused of being a fraud. And the accusations are
very serious indeed, because the implications of that accusation concern life
and death issues, but this time not physical but spiritual and eternal. If
you remember, Paul was writing to some churches in southern Turkey in an area
called Galatia. Now these were churches that Paul himself had founded after
a successful preaching tour. People had been set free from crushing burdens
of guilt and the pressure to do many good deeds to get into heaven. And they
had come to know the liberating truth of being forgiven by God through Jesus
Christ.

But not long after, other teachers had come through those
towns and undone all of Paulís good work. They said that Paul had only got
the message half right. ĎYes being a Christian is great, they said. But you
need to keep the Jewish law as well. You need to be circumcised, to follow
the Old Testament laws in order to be a really top notch Christian. In short,
you need Jesus + other rules and regulations. Paul is deceived and is deceiving
others.í So these false teachers were attacking Paul. For Paul, you see, was
claiming to be an apostle, one of a very select band of men given a specific
personal commission from Jesus himself. But these false teachers were saying
that Paul got all his teaching from the other apostles, men like Peter and
James and John, not Jesus himself. And then he had made a load of other stuff
up as well. Heís watered down the good news and heís left out the fact that
you need to keep the Jewish law, said the false teachers. Paulís not a true
apostle. Heís a fraud. Heís a deceiver. Heís an impostor.

And when
Paul hears this news, he is furious. Because these Galatian Christians have
fallen for these false teachersí lies hook, line and sinker. Theyíve been duped,
hoodwinked into following Jesus plus doing lots of rules! So he writes to tell
them how foolish they have been, and tells them to give up all those rules
and regulations and come back to Jesus. And if there is perhaps one verse that
sums up Paulís message it comes in chapter 5 verse 1: "It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do let yourselves be burdened by
a yoke of slavery."

And at the beginning of the letter, in
our passage, Paul takes the time to defend himself against the claims of the
false teachers that heís an impostor or a fraud. Now why do that? Why bother
to take the time to tell us about his travel plans after his conversion. Surely
it reads more like something out of a Michael Palin film than a passage from
the Bible? You know the sort of thing, 80 days around the Med with the apostle
Paul! But actually the reason for the defence is not for the geographically
curious, or because his personal pride has been damaged. It is because if Paul
is a true apostle, if he has been sent by Jesus himself and not by men, and
if his message is true, then the Galatians are in danger of going to hell not
heaven. Itís that serious. Because they are being duped by false teachers into
following a false message. For as we heard last week, there is only one gospel.
Paulís gospel which is the good news of Jesus himself. Itís his version which
is true. All other versions are perversions. And itís just as serious for us
today. Because there are plenty of people who want to rubbish the apostle Paul,
to get us to believe a slightly different version of Paulís message. But unless
we believe what Paul says, unless we accept that his message is the message
of living God himself, then we are danger of going to hell rather than heaven.
And that is why it is a matter of life and death. Add to the message just slightly
and you destroy it, as we will see all the way through Galatians. So Paul must
defend himself against the charges of being a fraud because he knows that the
very gospel is stake, not just in Galatia, but in the whole world to which
he ministers. Rubbish Paul, and you discredit the whole Christian message.
Thatís the stakes. For Paulís message is Godís message. So letís see how Paul
defends himself against the charges. And in his defence, Paul gives two pieces
of evidence to show that he is the real McCoy, the true apostle of Jesus.

1)
Paulís Conversion- All of Grace

2) Paulís Commission- All of God

1)
Paulís Conversion- All of Grace

So the first piece of evidence
weíll look at is Paulís conversion, that itís all of grace. Itís all about
the grace of God. Because quite frankly you could not meet a man who was more
unlikely to become a Christian. Letís have a look at verses 13-14: "For you
have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted
the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond
many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my
fathers." Paul begins by reminding the Galatians of what he was like. For Paul
was a very zealous Jew. He would have got top marks at Saturday school when
he was a child and at university he would have been one of the brightest students
winning every prize and scholarship going! And we learn elsewhere that he was
the pupil of one of the most famous rabbis of the day. So Paul can say that
he was advancing in Judaism beyond many of those his own age. He was extremely
zealous for the traditions of his fathers. Paul was passionate about his Judaism.
In fact so much so, that he actively persecuted the fledgling Christian church.
He says he intensely persecuted the church and tried to destroy it. The word
Paul uses for Ďdestroyí is a very strong word which Greek writers used to describe
invading armies destroying whole cities. Paulís savage intent was to raze the
Christian church to the ground. He was on a mission to stamp out Christianity
because he thought it was a deeply offensive cult. That was how passionate
he was. And do you notice that this is all public knowledge. He says in verse
13 that the Galatians have heard this. It was common knowledge. Everyone knew
who Paul, or Saul as he was known as a Jew, was. He was a Jewish hero. Everyone
knew how much he hated Christianity. If they had tabloids then, he would have
been on the front and back pages, and also been in the supplements. You can
imagine the headlines, canít you. Maybe the Jerusalem Post: "Savage Saul shuts
suspects in the slammer." Or perhaps the Bethlehem Daily Mail: "Rabid rabbi
wrecks rebelsí religion!" This man was red hot for his faith. So there is absolutely
no way in the world that Paul would chose to become a Christian. It canít be
anything to do with his choice or him making up a new religion. And just think
what he would be asked to give up. Fame, fortune, reputation, family, security,
and a job for life. To replace it with persecution, infamy, poverty, loneliness,
insecurity. There is no way Paul in the world would choose on his own account
to do that! In fact, when he did become a Christian, some of the Christians
were so sceptical they thought it was a trick to get Paul into the church!

But
what Paul hadnít counted on was the grace of God. Verse 15: "But when God,
who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal
his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult
any man." "But when GodÖ" Those are perhaps the precious words in Paulís whole
vocabulary. I was going this way, says Paul. But God. There is a complete change
of subject. From a Paul led life, to a God led life. Paul was going his way,
careering down a path that was leading away from God and taking everyone in
his path! But God stepped in and took the initiative. God was the one who saved
Paul. He is the one who forgave Paulís sin through Jesusí death on the cross.
And, if you remember the story, it took a special resurrection appearance of
Jesus himself on the road to Damascus to turn Paul around. The last resurrection
appearance of all. And it was to Paul. Paul was off on another persecution.
But God. God was pleased to reveal Jesus in Paul. Paul was stopped in his tracks
by the risen Jesus, and blinded by his glory. And more than that, Paul now
knows that God had set him apart from birth. God had always planned to use
Paul for a very significant task. And God called Paul by his grace. That free
gift of God which Paul in no way whatsoever deserved. Now can you see at any
point in this story how Paul could have made up such a story or brought upon
himself such a change of heart? Can you believe that a life can be transformed
like that apart from the grace and power of God. No, Paulís very testimony
shows us that he is not dependant on himself or others for his conversion.
It all began with the grace of God, free, undeserved, and precious mercy.

Now
it just worth us pausing for a moment to ponder this amazing truth. Because
the fact is that it is only the grace of God that can change lives. And when
we depend on our own merit to get us to God, then we will fail, time and time
again. One of the books I read as I prepared this talk was a book on Galatians
by Martin Luther, the reformer of the 16th century. In it he describes
his own state of mind before he became a Christian. He was a monk, but he tried
to live the Christian life by following rules and regulations in his own strength.
Listen to how he puts it: "Like Paul, I too, before I was enlightened by the
gospel, was a zealous as anyone for the traditions of the fathersÖ. I tried
to keep them myself, Ö punishing my poor body with fasting, watching, praying
and other exercisesÖI crucified Christ daily in my monastic life and blasphemed
God through my false faith in which I then lived all the timeÖ. I was given
to fasting, watching, praying and so forth. Yet underneath this cloak of holiness
and trust in my own righteousness, I fostered continual mistrust, doubting,
fear, hatred, and blasphemy against God. My righteousness was nothing but a
filthy puddle and the very kingdom of the devil." Luther came to see that for
all his good deeds, for all his so called religious fervour, it was a sham,
because he did not know Jesus Christ. He had to come to see that, like Paul,
even his best deeds were like filthy rags. He had to accept Godís grace as
the only way of salvation. And itís the same for you and me. And if you are
here today, trying to live your life, as many do, believing they are good enough
for God, then can I say you are sadly mistaken. In fact far more than that.
You are dangerously duped. Rather the only thing that will save you is to come
to God for forgiveness and depend on his grace and mercy in Christ. For like
Paul, each of must realise that becoming a Christian is nothing to do with
us and our decision. For no-one can save themselves. Rather it is all of grace.
And thatís Paulís first piece of evidence that he puts before the jury. His
conversion- all of grace.

2) Paulís Commission- All of God

But Paul brings a second piece of evidence before the jury
as to show heís an authentic apostle. His commission is all of God. In other
words Paul has been given a message to preach with the authority of the living
God himself. So letís go back to verse 11: "I want you to know, brothers, that
the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive
it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from
Jesus Christ." Now this time Paul goes on the offensive. He directly tackles
the charge that heís a fraud and a phoney. "Paul youíve copied your gospel
from the other apostles, the false teachers were saying. And Paul what you
have got youíve distorted into a false gospel." It reminds me of the time I
heard about an essay a student once received back and it had the following
words on it from the tutor: "This is both good and original. Unfortunately,
what is good is not original and what is original is not good." And that was
the charge against Paul. What is good is not original and what is original
is not good. So Paul says: "That is complete rubbish. I have a personal commission
from God to preach about Jesus Christ. Itís Godís message and I have Godís
authority." Verse 11, it is not something man made up. I want you to know this
brothers. Galatian Christians, donít believe everything you hear. Believe me
when I tell you I have a unique apostolic commission from Jesus Christ himself.
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather I received it
by revelation from Jesus Christ. And in the rest of our passage, he unpacks
both those truths in reverse order.

a) A Revelation from Jesus-
So in verses 15 and 16, he explains that his commission was a revelation from
Jesus: "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,
I did not consult any man." Weíve already seen that Paulís conversion was all
of grace. But notice what it is that God gives to Paul to do. Paul has been
set apart and called for a very specific purpose- That he might preach Jesus
Christ among the Gentiles, that is non Jewish people like most of us. And it
came about through a revelation. God revealed his Son in Paul, or it could
also mean to Paul. In other words, Paul experienced a personal revelation of
Godís Son Jesus. His eyes were opened and he was given a job to do. To proclaim
this Jesus to the Gentiles. And all of that happened on the road to Damascus.
So in Acts 26, when Paul is giving his testimony before a Roman official about
what happened on the road to Damascus, he says that Jesus told him to go to
people and tell them all about the forgiveness he offers. No man told him.
It was a commission from Jesus himself by personal revelation.

b)
Not taught by man- And nor was it taught by men, which is the second
part of his argument that he tackles in verses 17 and following. And his point
is simply that he had very little contact with any of the apostles in the years
following his conversion. You see if Paul had spent many years in Jerusalem
with all the apostles, then you could understand the charges sticking. Perhaps
Paul did get all his facts and views from them. But Paul maintains in verse
17 that in the immediate aftermath of his conversion, he went into Arabia,
which is miles in the opposite direction from Jerusalem. In fact, it was three
years, according to Paul in verse 18, before he finally made it down to Jerusalem,
and even then he only spent a fortnight with Peter and James. Hardly an intensive
course of theology to get things straight. And in any case, the purpose of
the visit, says Paul, was to get acquainted with Peter. My uninformed guess
is that they spent more time fishing and getting to know one another, than
checking out whether Paul was sound or not. Oh, Iím sure they talked about
the faith. But not so that Paul could find out the truth! He knew it already!
And it would be many years later that Paul would make his next visit to Jerusalem
as we read in chapter 2 verse 1. So all in all the false teachersí argument
is very thin. Paul was certainly not schooled by the apostles. In fact, he
says he went to Jerusalem just once in 14 years, for two weeks, and even then
he only saw two of the apostles. And by the time of the second visit, we read
in chapter 2 v 9 that the apostles recognised that Paul had a unique commission
from Jesus to proclaim the gospel to the gentiles. So the first meaningful
contact in fourteen years with the other apostles is not for an examination
of Paulís theology, but rather a confirmation of what Paul is already doing,
as weíll see next week.

So can you see what Paul is doing? He is defending
himself against the charge that his gospel is derived from others and that
heís distorted what heís derived. Rather heís received a commission from Jesus
himself and heís had little or no contact with the apostles. No Paulís commission
is all of God.

Now letís take a step back and pause to reflect why
this is so important for us 2000 years later. Why is it that God has allowed
a passage like this to be included into this Bible? And why does Paul consider
it so important that he spends almost a third of the letter in chapters 1-2
defending himself? Well let me suggest to you two very important implications
of this passage for us today.

i) Paulís Teaching is Godís
Teaching- The first is that Paulís teaching is Godís teaching. That
is to say that what Paul says comes from God because he has the authority of
Jesus himself. Now today that is a very difficult thing for many in the wider
church to swallow. Because many want to drive a wedge between Paul and Jesus.
They will say: "Yes, we love Jesus. Heís always teaching about love for others.
But I donít like that nasty Paul. Especially his views on sex or women! Paulís
homophobic and a misogynist!" Now in case you think Iím exaggerating then let
me tell you that I have heard that opinion spoken many times by clergy and
other church leaders and by many churchgoers in churches with a reputation
for good teaching like our own. I remember sitting in a meeting with a few
other clergymen, where one of Paulís letters was openly mocked and laughed
at as it was read out. I kid you not. And these were men and women who were
soon to be in the leadership positions in this diocese. And in fact, it may
be there are some of us here who hold to that view. Who are at the very least
slightly uneasy about the teachings of the apostle Paul. But the implications
of what Paul is saying in this passage is that his teaching is Godís teaching
in every aspect, whether it be in his discussions on human sexuality, marriage,
holiness, or Godís way of salvation. Whatever it is, he speaks the word of
God. And if you and I claim to be followers of Jesus, then it means we accept
Paulís teaching as Godís teaching. And we will stand up for it and defend it
in todayís world. Because Paulís teaching is Godís teaching.

b)
Paulís Gospel is Godís Gospel- But secondly, and related to the first
application is that Paulís gospel is Godís gospel. If Paul is an apostle of
Jesus Christ with a unique commission from God, then Paulís gospel is Godís
gospel. In other words, there is no other way to be saved other than the way
Paul teaches. Forgiveness through the cross of Jesus Christ only. And that
is why Paul is so strong in this letter about any additions to his gospel.
Because if you add to it you destroy it. No, to reject or distort Paulís gospel
is to reject and distort Godís gospel. There is only one way of salvation.
Jesus only. And itís a matter of life and death.

Now it may seem unpalatable
to us in our multi cultural, multi faith world but itís the truth. Like it
or not. And if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, then you must have
the courage to stand up for this gospel. Because what cruelty it would be to
tell people it doesnít really matter, when all the while we know full well
that they are heading for an eternity without God. Yes it may well get harder
for us to stand with Paul and say there is only one gospel. We may get flak
at work, we may find it hard at home, we may well be hated on the uni campus
or thought of as freaks. But stand we must. Because there is no other way of
salvation. "I want you to know brothers, says Paul, that the gospel I preach
is not something that man made up." Will you stand with Paul for this great
news of the grace of Jesus Christ? Will you live and share it when the opportunities
come? Because nothing else makes sense of life, and nothing else brings us
to know the living God.

And that is why Paul is concerned to defend
his apostolic credentials. Because in the end itís a matter of life and death,
eternal life and death. And it matters to us 21 centuries later. For if he
is an impostor, then you and I have no hope. There is no good news. But heís
not. Paul is no fraud. Heís the real McCoy. And heís shown it here by his conversion
and his commission. All of grace and all of God.

Copyright information: The sermon texts are copyright and are available for personal use only. If you wish to use them in other ways, please contact us for permission.